Gender, general anxiety, math anxiety and math achievement in early school-age children

Monika Szczygieł
Pedagogical University of Krakow, Poland

Math anxiety is considered a predictor of mathematical achievement, but little is known about its characteristics in young children. In a longitudinal study of first to second grade children, the relationships between gender, general and math anxiety, and math achievement were tested. First, the results indicate that girls in comparison to boys have a higher level of general anxiety and that gender gap in math anxiety is affected by various types of math anxiety. Girls exceed boys in testing and total scores of math anxiety, however, no gender differences in learning math anxiety and math achievement in the first and second years were observed. Secondly, the full mediation effect of general anxiety in the relationship between gender and math anxiety was observed in first- and second-graders. Finally, the relationship between math anxiety and mathematical achievement in first and second grade children was tested, and the results depend on grade, gender, type of math anxiety and the level of general anxiety.
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Author: Dr Monika Szczygieł works at the Institute of Psychology in the Pedagogical University of Krakow. Her research interests focus on cognitive and emotional predictors of mathematical achievements during the lifespan. Email: monika.szczygiel@up.krakow.pl ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6544-0734 Please cite as: Szczygiel, M. (2020). Gender, general anxiety, math anxiety and math achievement in early school-age children. Issues in Educational Research, 30(3), 1126-1142. http://www.iier.org.au/iier30/szczygiel.pdf